“Respect,” Ilya Sorokin answered when asked what he’d get in return for gifting his goalie stick to Alex Ovechkin as the latter cemented his position atop the NHL’s goal-scoring mountain. Sorokin had played a commendable role as the Islanders beat the Washington Capitals at the UBS Arena. He had saved every shot that had been sent his way, except for the one that made history.
“Ilya Sorokin, thank you for letting me score 895. I love you, brother,” acknowledged Ovechkin when the game was paused for the on-ice ceremony honoring his achievement. It’s safe to say that it was a bittersweet moment for the Russian goalie. Yet, he would probably be proud of how he had not let the Capitals captain score on the four shots he had taken coming into the game. In fact, it took Ovechkin another four attempts on April 6th itself to finally get past him. However, considering all that he has done so far in his career, those numbers shouldn’t come as a surprise.
KHL to NHL: Ilya Sorokin’s rise
Ilya Sorokin was born in Mezhdurechensk, Russia. His journey began in the KHL with Metallurg Novokuznetsk, where he demonstrated grounded discipline and raw talent before achieving success with CSKA Moscow. The highlight of his KHL career was the 2018-19 season when CSKA Moscow won the Gagarin Cup. While he boasted a .940 save percentage during the regular season, he took it to an even more impressive .947 in the playoffs—a performance that won him the playoffs’ MVP honor.
Although the New York Islanders had drafted him No. 78th overall in 2014, Sorokin had expressed that he wasn’t keen on playing for them till former GM Garth Snow was in charge of the team. However, as Lou Lamoriello took over the reins and turned the Islanders into a genuine playoff team, the Olympic gold medalist had a change of heart.
Finally, on July 13, 2020, the New York Islanders signed him on a one-year contract. His breakout season, however, came in 2022-23. His .924 save percentage and an NHL-topping 6 shutouts record earned him a finalist spot in the race to the Vezina trophy, and an eight-year $66 million contract. His rookie season was also not bad, considering he finished it with a 2.17 GAA and .918 save percentage in 22 games that included three shutouts. What’s more? That season also brought him a franchise record.
When Ilya Sorokin went 4 for 4
When the dust settled on Game 5 of the Stanley Cup playoffs in 2021, Sorokin became the first rookie goalie in franchise history to win his first 3 playoff games, thanks to the 48 saves he made against the Pittsburgh Penguins to clinch a 3-2 victory for his side. Everyone cheered his name, and the media praised him. In Game 6, he extended the record to four.
This time he frustrated the likes of Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin with a whopping 34 saves. After the 5-3 victory, his playoff GAA stood at a mindboggling 1.95. “It takes everyone in these series but obviously Ilya came up big, especially that last game in Pittsburgh,” Ryan Pulock had said after the game. With 7 saves in the first period of the game, followed by fifteen and twelve in the second and third respectively, Sorokin had made a total of no less than 150 saves in the four games.
No wonder Chico Resch, former Islander goaltender and Stanley Cup champion, once said, “Sorokin has the least amount of flaws as any goalie in the league… Very few pucks pass through him.” The Russian was quite a big talking point ahead of the 2024-25 season, and he has been one of the good things in what has been a bumpy season for the Islanders.
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